TAC,CD===============, , , The concern is that the good guy CCW taking out the tango might be misidentified by police and shot. Police shoot one of their own every 18 months around the nation so it is pretty likely.

Contributing factors seem to be as follows -

You are more likely to be mistakenly shot by police in areas where the carry of weapons by citizens is not common. Places like New York or Los Angeles immediately come to mind. The notion is only cops or criminals have guns.

You are more likely to be shot if the first thing the police see is the gun....specially if it is pointed in their direction.

You are more likely to be shot by police if when challenged, if challenged, you begin to turn toward them. This is problematic as it is a natural reaction to hearing a sound.

Solutions - Well clearly we will not stop carrying guns because of that risk, but it is infact a risk that cannot be ignored. The solutions seem to be in creating a moment of indecission for any responding officers about your misidentification as a bad guy. This is dangerous for them as hesitation kills, but from your perspective, hesitation also saves you by causing indecission.

First, forget low ready. Shoot the bad guy when you need to shoot him, and then do what you can to hide the image of the gun. That means you use Sul, or the Covered Sul we are now teaching as well. , , , (For those not familiar with this term, sul is a position wherein the gun hand point the gun downward, resting on the complementary hand, the palm of which is placed on the torso. Although some gun people feel there are better alternatives for how to hold the gun while not aiming and shooting, sul does have the advantage of allowing one to turn to/through any direction without muzzle sweeping. Here it is being offered as a way of lessening the visibility of your gun to someone just arriving.-- Crafty) You can certainly still shoot additional bad guys if needed but it is not obvious.

Two, you do not need to cover the bad guy at gunpoint as you stand over him like TJ Hooker. Shoot what you need to shoot until you no longer need to shoot then haul ass to cover and hide.

If challenged, grip the barrel/slide of the pistol with your support hand and yell back loud as possible. "I am a good guy....I am a good guy. Don't Shoot. Don't Shoot" with an emphasis on DON'T. Raise your empty hand over your head and the barrel/slide gripped pistol in the other over your head. Alternatively you can also simply let the pistol fall.

Then do as you are told. It will all be sorted out, but you will be alive.

1. Off duty cop or armed citizen, your cell phone is your best friend. Get on 911 and tell dispatch what is happening where, who you are and what you look like. Hopefully, this info will reach responding officers before they reach you.

2. If you have time to do this , holster your weapon prior to the uniforms arriving if possible. Put distance between yourself and the bad guy/s if possible.

3. No matter having done all this, expect to be proned out at gunpoint, cuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car until everything is sorted out. Don't argue, don't hesitate to do exactly what you are told to do. When guns come out, things get very dangerous and can go bad very quickly. Understand that everyone's heartbeat is elevated and adrenilyn is pumping. If you want to argue police procedure, wait until the scene is secured and the weapons are reholstered/reracked.

I disagree with Gabe Suarez on this point: If challenged "Police! Drop your weapon!" the next sound should be your gun clattering to the ground. The only thing that should move is your hands, going limp.

When the first headlines hit online news sites about the recent shooting spree at Oikos University, a small and previously obscure school in Oakland, my mind immediately considered the possibilities. The gunman could very well be an older student — or perhaps former student — with a grudge against the school. Within hours, reports surfaced that the alleged murderer of six students and one staff member was a 43-year-old man who had been enrolled in the nursing program.

I don't claim to be clairvoyant. I'm just someone who has studied the 20 campus shootings that resulted in multiple fatalities over the past two decades. The average age of these assailants exceeds 35, with several being well into their 40s. Unlike a traditional-age college student who might dismiss a failing grade or an expulsion as a temporary setback, older students often view their pursuit of a college degree as their last hope for success. Failure at this stage of life can leave them feeling that they are simply out of options.

I´ve been training a lot of Krav down here in Mexico. I am wondering what DBMA has in terms of long gun disarms in terms of sling and clipped carry. Everything thus far addresses rather straight-forward disarms of long guns that are not secured to the opponent. This is meant in regard to ranges corta and medio. Thoughts?

Tuhon Jared Wihongi of PT and I are in serious conversation concerning bringing him on board to the Dog Brothers Military Program.He has a strong background as a SWAT LEO and SWAT trainer and was the combatives instructor for 19th SF. It was through his good offices that 19th brought me in recently.

In answer to your question I like the material he has developed in this regard. I find it to be adrenal state simple and it seems to be quite sound to me.

Thank you Guro and I'm looking forward to it. Everything I've been experimenting with thus far, involves cutting the sling ir incapacitating your opponent to where you can unclip it or slide it off, which is not adrenal state simple to me yet. Looking forward to it.

I've trained 2 seminars with Sonny in the last couple years, and found him to be an excellent instructor with good common sense. I have seen people draw wrong conclusions from pictures of events I was at, without the context - granted, the courses I was taking were not the advanced house clearing type course that this one was, but we were shooting live fire on the move, and I saw Sonny display appropriate caution and adjust drills for safety on things I didn't think were a big deal; I would train again with Sonny without hesitation. The instructor shot was a good friend of his (this was just up the road in Dallas). Prayers for both of them.

Here is an article which gives a more detailed account of the episode.

Statement from the Range Owner Regarding the Recent Accidental Shooting

Since a lot of readers have been inquiring about it, I am publishing this statement by range owner Len Baxley in its entirety as it provides a great deal of detail on the recent shoot house accidental shooting involving trainer Sonny Puzikas. If anyone has any additional amplification regarding the incident or factual conflicting information please feel free to share it.

Hello,

My name is Len Baxley, and I am the Founder of the Texas Defensive Shooting Academy (TDSA), not to be confused with other TDSA’s. I started the original TDSA in Texas in 1995. The other TDSA firearm training organizations are located in Tulsa, Missouri, Kentucky and Canada. I trained them how to shoot, then taught them how to teach, then allowed them to use the “TDSA” name in a hand-shake business arrangement. With the exception of Kentucky, none of them are associated with me any longer, even though they still use the TDSA designation.

I am also the owner of the TDSA gun range, founded in 1995, located just outside the city of Ferris, Texas.

As many of you have already heard there was a tragic (non-fatal) accidental shooting at my range on Sunday, Nov. 4th 2012.

I have intentionally not commented on this incident for several reasons. I do not know if that decision has been a mistake or commenting now is the mistake.

I was not present when the incident occurred. I had just left the range. As range owner, Sonny Puzikas gave me his account of what happened. So in the interest of correcting the inaccurate information I will tell you his account and I will follow it up with my personal comments.

Just a short lead in for everyone to understand how it got to this point;

Sonny is a range member of TDSA. He asked to rent a portion of the TDSA range for a two-day class. He expected a large number of students and he advised he had one main assistant instructor, Maxim Franz, and several other assist instructors. I estimated there to be two to four extra assistant instructors. But I am ONLY estimating that number. The first day was static type shooting, which I observed while I was doing my other range owner duties. Other then YELLING at a few students for forgetting to wear their glasses I personally observed no safety issues. The second day was going to be using a section of the range we call the city. The city is a 200-yard long live fire area with multiple ballistic rooms. Due to heavy rains Saturday night that section of the range was not usable so I built a three room shoot house for them in the front of the range. I closed down the range so the class would not have to worry about regular range members getting in their way. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that everyone know I inquired of Sonny and Maxim as to how they wanted to use the shoot house. At that time both Sonny and Maxim stated they were going to run each student through the shoot house one at a time while the instructor held on to the shooter’s belt. They then said, and that will only happen after several hours of dry runs (empty/unloaded) firearms. After hearing their training plan I agreed to them using the shoot house. Skipping back to day two. After building the three room shoot house that morning, several hours past. I later observed Maxim conducting exactly what they had previously described. Maxim appeared to have half the class and was teaching them how to maneuver through the shoot house with unloaded guns. I DID OBSERVE GENE (Asst. Instructor that was shot) in the room with the class while Maxim was conducting the training. Fast forward to late in the day, sometime past 5:00pm. I know this because it was getting dark. With the recent time change, the class was now getting into the darkness due to the large class. I advised Sonny I was leaving the range. Sonny then said, “We promised them a live fire run through the shoot house and we are not going to break that promise. We only have two students left though.” As a TDSA Range member, Sonny has access to the range front gate. Sonny said he would lock up so I left.

I was later notified about the shooting and went back to the range. Gene had already been transported to hospital and the Dallas Sheriff’s Office was on the scene.

AND HERE IS WHAT SONNY SAID TO ME:

“I was standing out front of the shoot house talking with students. I was taking some money and shaking hands and saying bye to students. I had heard the last shooter’s number called out, #41. (It seems that 41 was the last student that day) So I knew the last shooter was going inside to shoot. I heard the shooting stop. I did not hear shooting for a while. I finished saying good-bye so I decided to make a run in the house before I left. I made the statement, “I am going to do a run” and then I heard a person standing behind me respond to me saying, “OK” I did not turn around so I don’t know who said OK to me. I, wrongfully, assumed it was clear to go. I pulled my pistol out and set up and started coming around the corner like this. (Sonny then demonstrated to me how he did that, which was pieing the corner) I shot three quick shots at the far left target, then three quick shots at the far right target and then three quick shots at the close right target just inside the room. I then heard someone say, “You shot me” so I cleared my pistol and ran over and ask him where are you shot, he said, “the stomach” so I ran back out of the house and yelled for the trauma bags and to dial 911 and to ask for a helicopter. I then went back in to attend to Gene. Gene was standing near the first target I shot at and was hit with all three rounds. He was hit once in the right hand, once in the right bicep, and twice in the lower abdomen. The student was also in the same room and bent down to check on Gene. Sonny said, I never saw them in the room.”

Points to emphasize:

*Gene was shot with the first three rounds fired. SO, he had NO warning and could not have yelled out or done anything once rounds started being fired.

*Gene was NOT in the second room, but instead in the first room.

*Sonny was not doing a failure drill and was not aiming at a head shot of a paper target or of course a person.

*Sonny, did announce his intent to shoot in the shoot house, and believed he was being given clearance to enter.

*The actual live fire training during the class was done one student at a time with an instructor holding onto the student’s belt.

*Sonny did then and still does accept responsibility for his actions resulting in Gene’s injuries.

*Very qualified medics, including a former Special Forces 18D Medic (now currently a Doctor in Private Practice) and an Army Medic with recent combat experience were ON scene during the class and treated Gene within minutes of the incident.

Under the heading of potential bias in writing this: I want everyone to know that read my account my opinion. So you will understand I am not “taking up” for Sonny. I am not a student of Sonny’s and have never been. I fall into the category of AK’s and anything related to them are horrible and AR’s are the way to go. I have been privileged to train shooting fundamentals to American Special Forces and don’t understand why any American would want to train with Russian Special Forces. AND to drive home that, when Sonny introduced me to his class on Saturday he actually said, “This is Len Baxley, the range owner, and he HATES AKs!!” BUT !! That being said, I personally saw people in this class that I knew with the following backgrounds: USPSA Master Class shooter, Former US Special Forces Medic (yep, the Doc!) and a recent former 82ndAirborne soldier. SO, before you totally dismiss this Class or Type of Class or Sonny for that matter. There is a obvious segment of good Americans that think enough of it/him to pay good money to travel along way and take this/his training.

Now for my personal comments, if anyone is interested in reading. I make these comments for several reasons: I have spent the better part of the day contacting news reporting agencies correcting in-accurate reporting. Mainlydue to “quoting” other reports. It seems NO ONE wants to take responsibility, but instead just keeps repeating, “We just want to get the story correct sir, so tell us the real story?” Of course after they got it wrong!! So,for the current TDSA Range Instructors that have been wrongfully blamed for causing this accident in local and national news agencies and for TDSA Range members that have called to see how our range could “cause” such an accident I made this statement.

Gentlemen/Ladies, I have worked over 18 years to build the TDSA Range. A range that allows shooters the ability to shoot the way they want, without the stringent rules imposed likemost other ranges. One shot every two seconds, no moving, no drawing and generally, NO FUN. Hopefully, TDSA range members realize we allow a lot of freedom on our range while trying to keep it as safe as possible, “GIVEN THE FREEDOM YOU ENJOY” The hard truth is freedom comes at a cost, to use a very true statement. For instance, the freedom to run and gun means someone might trip and fall and accidently discharge their firearm and hurt themselves or others. I think about this frequently as a range owner. I have to way everyone’s desire to utilize the “cool” things we have on our range with the possibility/probability of an accident occurring. Just think about how many other ranges have a 40 ft. shooting tower, live fire street, live fire 200 yard city capable of 50 BMG. I think they are all very cool stuff but as proven even an experienced instructor made a small mistake that had grave consequences resulting in a life threatening injury. To my Texas Defensive Shooting Academy Instructors, thank you for your discretion and professionalism in this matter. Your restraint shows character. I am proud to have you as instructors and friends. We have made a true difference in many lives: civilian, law enforcement and most recently military.

In closing, I wish Gene Smithson a quick and successful full recovery. Furthermore, I hope the friendship Gene and Sonny have will not be torn apart but instead strengthened in this very difficult time. Remember, what makes a man is not what happens to him, but how he responds to what happens to him. So can be said for a friendship.

1. Line up the front and rear sights. Simply center the front sight in the rear sight (a scope does it automatically for you). (“Sight Alignment”) 2. Keeping the sights lined up, bring them onto the target. (“Sight Picture”) 3. Take a deep breath in. The front sight will dip. Let your breath out, watching the front sight rise until it barely touches the bottom of the bull’s eye - now hold your breath (“Respiratory Pause”). You have just used a natural act - breathing - to establish your correct elevation. (Don’t forget to get your NPOA!) 4A. Focus your eye on the front sight. It may be a little hard to do at first - you naturally want to look at the target - but focus on the front sight.- 4B - Focus your mind on “keeping that front sight on the target”. This is the big one! 5. Now the tricky part. While you are doing step 4, take up the slack and squeeze the trigger straight back - but keep your concentration on the front sight! Don’t let the front sight off the target. You are trying to do two tasks at once, and the more important is to Keep the front sight on the target! This is the part where practice really pays off. 6. When the hammer falls: 1) keep your eyes open, 2) take an ‘instant’ mental photo of where the front sight was on the target when the hammer fell (“Call the Shot”), and 3) hold the trigger back (“Follow through”). In field shooting you want to quickly observe the impact of the bullet on the target and the target reaction. If the shot is a miss, try to spot any bullet splash so you can correct the next shot. Position tips: In all positions: Use the sling tightened just enough to hold the weight of the rifle. It will add to your accuracy by a factor of 20% - or more! Grasp the wrist of the stock firmly with the trigger hand, and pull the rifle back real snug in your shoulder - and keep it there. Your cheek should be pressed firmly against the stock. In Prone the elbow under the rifle should be directly under the rifle or as close as you can get it directly under the rifle. And relax and enjoy the shooting. Keep at it and the positions will actually become comfortable! Trust me. Practice until you can consistently group 1” or less at 25 meters (81 ft). Periodically do “ball & dummy” to detect and correct flinching.

COMMON FIRING LINE ERRORS

You go to a lot of trouble to fire a shot - buy a rifle, ammo, travel a long distance, and lay out in hot and cold weather - so you should want to have that shot impact COT [Center of Target]. Well, watch out for these common errors, and you’ll be ahead of the game: #1: Failure to keep eyes open when the rifle fires to ‘call’ your shot. To know where the shot just went, you need to take an instant mental photo of where the front sight was when your rifle went off. If you don’t, you lose the information value of feedback from that shot - and you’re almost certainly flinching and/or jerking the trigger. So, keep that eye open - call the shot based on the position of the front sight on the target when the rifle fired, and watch for bullet splash downrange for confirmation of your call. On the firing line, in practice, you aim to continually increase the percentage of shots that you can honestly call 'good' - the front sight was on the target when the rifle fired. #2 Failure to pull rifle back into shoulder. One of the leading causes of trigger jerk, bucking, and flinching is fear of recoil, and the impact of the rifle on the shoulder. If you come away from the firing line complaining about recoil, or a ‘sore’ shoulder, this one is what you are doing wrong - and it WILL lead to flinching. So grab the pistol grip firmly and pull the rifle back into your shoulder while you fire the shot - so you ‘roll’ with the recoil. A side benefit: extra pressure of the trigger hand on the stock will give the perceived impression of a ‘lighter’ trigger. #3 Failure to get NPOA. “Natural Point of Aim” has been said to be the one factor which separates the riflemen from the ‘wannabees’. If you don’t get your natural point of aim, your shots will be off the center of the target, even if fired perfectly, because your body is out of position, and you have to muscle the rifle onto the target. A rifleman takes position so that his rifle, with his body relaxed, is pointing at the target. He doesn’t have to fight muscle strain and he makes his job of firing the shot a lot easier - and his shots will be on target. Get your NPOA by lining up on the target with your sights, closing your eyes, relaxing your body, and taking a deep breath in and letting it out. Open your eyes and shift position pivoting around your forward elbow, to bring the sights back on the target. Repeat until when you open your eyes, your sights are naturally on the target. Once you establish your NPOA, keep it by not moving that forward elbow supporting the rifle [prone] or keeping your position steady [all other positions]. #4 Failure to pull ‘trigger’ leg up tight behind trigger arm to absorb recoil and generally tighten position [prone position]. Try it and you’ll see your front sight settle down like it should. Grasping the forearm with the non-trigger hand and pulling slightly back into the shoulder may also help in rapid fire [what other kind is there?]. #5 Failure to maximize your feedback. Shooting is always learning, and every shot you fire should be a learning experience. If you're in a match, and screw a string of fire up so badly you are ashamed, you keep shooting just as hard as before, with those educational purposes in mind. #6 Failure to ‘followthrough’. By the time you think “Followthrough” as you hold the trigger back after the shot, this step in ‘Firing the Shot’ is done. But don’t overlook it, because you need to do it. #7 Failure to keep the sight on the target. The most important step in “Firing the Shot”. Ignore this, and you might as well be shooting blanks, or setting off firecrackers. This is a 2-part step: physically focusing your eye on the front sight, and firmly focusing your mind - your concentration - on ‘keeping that front sight on the target’. Whatever else you do, you must do this for the shot to hit COT. #8 ‘Flinching’, ‘bucking’ or ‘jerking the trigger’: “Flinching” is anticipating recoil by an abrupt backward motion of your shoulder to get ‘away’ from it. “Bucking” is anticipating recoil by shoving your shoulder forward to ‘make up’ for or ‘resist’ the impact. “Jerking” is snapping the trigger quickly to get the disagreeable experience over with as soon as possible. All three will throw your shot off the target - in fact, are guaranteed to throw your shot off the target. All three (usually lumped under the generic “flinching”) are natural responses to your body’s abhorrence of sudden impacts. You have to work to control your body, so the rifle is not disturbed by any movement at the time the hammer falls. You do this in several ways. One is to eliminate the recoil impact by pulling the rifle snugly back into your shoulder, so that there is no impact, and you simply ride the ‘push’ of the recoil. If you don’t pull it back tightly into your shoulder, the rifle has time to pick up speed and slam your shoulder, and you start to flinch, buck or jerk the trigger in response. So pull it back into your shoulder, and you’ll do OK. Second, keep your eyes open so you can take that instant mental photo of where the front sight was on the target at the instant of firing. If you can’t do this, you know you are guilty of flinching, bucking, or jerking. Third, concentrate on keeping the front sight on the target. Pulling the trigger is not the main task - No! Keeping the front sight on the target is the main task. So practice until that trigger finger is ‘educated’ to take the slack up and steadily increase the pressure when the front sight is on the target, ‘freeze’ when the front sight drifts off the target, and continue the squeeze when the sight is back on the target. You’ll have to do this in the 6-10 seconds you’re holding your breath. If you don’t fire the shot in that time, simply relax, take a deep breath and start over. [Trigger finger tips: middle of the pad of the first joint, or the first joint itself, should be where the trigger touches the finger. Keep the finger clear of the stock (‘dragging wood’) as it will throw your shot off. Visualize a straight pull back, not to the side.] Once out in the 'real world', you'll find that with practice, you'll punch out 20 good shots in 30 seconds, if you ever need to shoot fast. Even the best riflemen can develop a flinch, so periodically do the ‘ball and dummy’ drill to test for one, and then continue ‘ball and dummy’ until you are ‘cured’ (but remember that rarely will the cure be permanent, so you still periodically recheck). Twenty rounds should suffice for both the detection and the cure. Have a friend ‘load’ and hand the rifle to you [make sure all safety precautions are observed!] either with or without a round in the chamber. Usually, he will start off with a live round to ‘juice up’ any tendency to flinch, and then give you an empty one to see if there is movement in the muzzle when the hammer falls. He continues with ‘empties’ until your muzzle doesn’t move. Then he feeds a live one followed by more ‘empties’ - actually, he is trying to ‘smoke out’ your flinch and get it to show itself. He continues until he is convinced that your flinch is gone. Along the way he will watch your aiming eye to make sure it stays open when the rifle goes off. #9 The biggest failure is to go to the range without a goal. Your goal should always be to improve your shooting, and come away from each session on the range a better shot. And you do that by firing the Army Precision Combat Rifle Qualification Course - which Fred’s has reduced to 25m for speed and convenience. Those in the know at Riverside who have fired the full course at 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards will tell you - “the course at 25m is harder!” And each time you fire it, you have a numerical score by which you can measure your progress towards becoming a good shooter - a RIfleman! #10 Failure to use your sling - For over 100 years, the sling has been in military use as an aid to marksmanship. Because of the tendency of the M16 barrel to flex under sling pressure, the sling has been slighted in the last few decades. But make no mistake: the sling is one of the biggest aids to accurate shooting that you have, and you always have it with you, to carry the rifle. So, never fire a shot without the sling. Use the hasty sling for standing and anytime you’re in a rush, or may need to move fast after firing a shot; and use the loop sling for prone and sitting when you have the time, but try to make sure your upper arm is padded to block muscle tremor and heartbeat, either with a shooting jacket or heavy clothing. It’s hard to estimate how big a factor in accuracy the sling is. A minimum of 20%, going up to 80% or more. It will help in rapid fire, keeping your position tight, speeding your recovery for the next shot. The bottom line is, always use your sling - in every position, for every shot. #11 Failure [sitting position] to put both elbows in front of both knees - If you’ve been to the range much, you’ve seen a new shooter trying to shoot sitting - with that trigger elbow up high in the air, almost like he’s shooting standing, totally ignoring that nice big fat knee, as steady as a bench, and less than a foot away. The shot will be much better, with that trigger elbow down on the front of the knee, where it belongs (NOT on top, where recoil will knock it off, slowing recovery time). And that other elbow, the one under the rifle? Hunker forward and drop that sucker on the target side of its knee - again to resist recoil. A good sitting position will initially break your back until you get stretched, but once everything falls into place, you can shoot nearly as good as you do off the bench! Don’t sell the position short, especially if you are on a downward slope and need to shoot over grass, etc Shoot Smart - Shoot Safe! (Copy this checklist & take to the range with you.)

How to Use a Flashlight in a Tactical Situationby Brett & Kate McKay on November 7, 2012 · 64 comments

in Manly Skills

It’s late Friday night and you’re walking to your car after a fun evening with your friends downtown. As you turn the corner down an unlit side street, you see a shadow dart across the wall and hear footsteps. The hairs on your neck stand straight up. You quicken your pace, but the other footsteps speed up as well. You look around trying to make out shapes in the dark, when out of nowhere a fist connects with your cheekbone. The sucker punch takes you to the ground and you can feel your wallet being taken from your back pocket.

Before you have time to react, your assailant has disappeared back into the cover of darkness.

You really could have used a flashlight.

If you’re like me, you typically think of flashlights as something you keep in your kitchen drawer in case the power goes out, or as what you bring along on an infrequent camping trip so you can find your way back to the tent after you take a middle-of-the-night leak. But according to Mike Seeklander, firearms and tactical trainer with Shooting Performance, a flashlight is something every man should have with him at all times. I met Mike over at the US Shooting Academy here in Tulsa to go over the ins and outs of using a flashlight in a tactical situation. Here’s what he told me.

What Is a Tactical Flashlight?In today’s post we’re not talking about just any old flashlight. We’re talking about tactical flashlights. What makes a flashlight tactical? A tactical flashlight is simply a flashlight that’s been designed for tactical (i.e. military or police) use. Many tactical flashlights are designed to be mounted to a weapon for low-light shooting. They’re typically smaller than traditional flashlights, emit much more light, and are made of weapon-grade aluminum for maximum durability. While tactical flashlights are designed primarily for military and police units, as we’ll see below, they’re also a really handy everyday and personal defense tool for the average civilian.

Why Every Man Should Carry a FlashlightBefore we even get into the tactical and self-defense uses of a flashlight, let’s talk about why you should start carrying one even if you don’t plan on using it to thwart would-be attackers. Next to a pocket knife, a small, tactical flashlight is one of the most useful and versatile tools a man can have in his Every Day Carry kit.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in a situation where a flashlight would have been handy, but I was left stumbling in the dark. Take the other day for example. I was trying to fix a connection on our TV’s audio output, but I couldn’t see a thing behind the stand. So I had to go rummage around my house looking for a flashlight. I could have saved myself about 15 minutes if I simply had a small flashlight tucked in my pocket along with my knife.

And as the residents of the Eastern seaboard learned firsthand last week, electrical power can go out at any time and for long periods. Having a flashlight on you can save time and toe stubs as you navigate about your darkened apartment.

And, besides helping you fix wire connections or navigating your home after a power outage, a flashlight can also be used as an effective self-defense tool.

Flashlights: The Most Underestimated Tool for Personal Defense

If you use a handgun as a personal defense weapon, a flashlight is vital for low-light shooting. Not only does it help you to identify your target, but it also allows you to see your gun sights in the dark. Even if you don’t carry a gun for personal defense, a flashlight, when used correctly, can be very handy in tough situations. (We’ll talk more below about using a flashlight when armed or unarmed.) They can be taken into places like movie theaters or airplanes where guns are banned, and are great for men who live in countries with strict weapons laws, but who still want to carry something for personal defense.

There are two important self-defense functions that a tactical flashlight serves, plus one bonus use.

Helps identify threats. Attackers often use the cover of darkness as an advantage. A bright flashlight can help identify threats in a low-light environment and eliminate the advantage of an attacker stalking in the shadows. Simply shining a light on a bad guy can be enough to get him to take off.

Momentarily disorients attackers. Have you ever had a bright light shined in your eyes when it was dark outside? You probably felt disoriented and even blinded for a bit. You can take advantage of that natural reaction to bright light to defend yourself against would-be attackers.

Whenever you encounter a possible threat, shine your flashlight directly in their eyes, or as Mike says, “dominate their face.” Your assailant will likely reach his hands up to his face and experience three to four seconds of disorientation and semi-blindness. That gives you enough time to either flee or attack.

Bonus use: Improvised weapon. Some tactical flashlights have a serrated or toothed bezel. Manufacturers advertise these specialty bezels as a tool that can be used to break car windows in an emergency. But according to Mike, breaking a window with a small, tactical light is easier said than done. “Me and a bunch of Military Special Operations personnel tried for hours to break a car window with the toothed bezel of a small tactical flashlight. We never broke it.”

While the bezel on a tactical flashlight isn’t going to break windows, it can be used as an improvised striking device during an attack. After you’ve shined the light in your attacker’s eyes and disoriented him, strike his face with the toothed bezel as hard as you can. The motion should be like stamping him with a giant rubber stamp.

Mike says to be careful with the toothed bezeled flashlights when flying. He had one taken away by a TSA agent because it was deemed a “striking tool.” When in doubt, put your flashlight in your checked bag.

I'm starting to develop my skillset in the realm of precision rifle. My rifle is a Remington 700 in .308 w/heavy bbl. I've gotten mixed messages on the need for barrel break in and procedures for doing it. Any suggestions? Sources to read up on?

I would say that all the myths you hear about lapping barrels and "breaking them In " is just that a myth. A barrel comes from the factory(if it is a good quality gun)( and Remington 700 is a good gun) with a good barrel already on it. It will have good grooves cut , however there will always be small little pits and imperfections. that being said, those can easily be covered and filled with copper from the jacket that just cut through that barell for the shot. All my Long Range Instructors agree that building up that copper is better than lapping a barrel and taking one shot then cleaning it and then another and cleaning is a waste of time. Anytime you lap a barrel you are in essence cutting the height off the shoulder of the lans and grooves. but by shooting it you build up copper in the imperfections and that then becomes the surface. When cleaning dont use copper solvent. use a good cleaning solution like M-Pro7 and dont clean it too much. one of my mentors was a Sniper in a unit here at Ft Bragg and he never cleaned more than the surface and the barrel with a cloth patch. the most he ever used was a nylon bore brush if trash got up in the barrel. remember copper is our friend, lead can be cut with just simple patches. I hope this helps, and of course in the spirit of discussion I am sure there are plenty of people out there that would say I am crazy. But that has worked for me for years and it still works today at the Special Forces Sniper Course. Most of the OCD cleaning rituals people do on a precision Rifle is just that OCD. It takes such patience and effort to be a great sniper. So people transliterate that into cleaning as well. I applaud those types, I however do not have the time patience or the energy to apply that to cleaning as I do training. remember cleaning is a support task, not a mission essential task. Keep guns functional clean and they will work. Peace Out.

This is exactly what I was looking for. The information about copper is very useful. I was under the exact opposite impression and was prepared to spend lots time and money to attempt to get every bit of copper out after every shooting session.

"remember cleaning is a support task, not a mission essential task. Keep guns functional clean and they will work."

So, the other day browsing through a local gun shop, the salesman tells me about the Sig Sauer 1911 BOGO promotion. basically, buy one Sig 1911 and get a 1911 in .22 for free.

Well, I tell him I'll think about it. I jump online and find that the store has a better price on the Sig 1911 carry nightmare than budsgunshop.com plus a 1911 in .22LR that generally retails for about 400 bucks for FREE!

So, short time later I'm back at the gun shop and make my purchase in short order. The Sig carry nightmare is both pretty and very well made as a defensive weapon with stock tritium night sights. I bought a Wilson Combat 8 round magazine to go along with the 2 8 round stainless steel mags supplied by Sig. The Wilson would ride in the gun if I was to carry it concealed, as the Sig mags have a extended floorplate/base pad that somewhat detracts from it's inherent concealability.

Let me say that I'm a hardcore Glock guy that has carried Glocks for most all of my adult life, both on and off duty. I haven't owned a 1911 for decades and regularly talk smack to the 1911 cultists at my job, but a good deal is a good deal and a lot of my handgun training was based on the 1911 weapon system, so despite my love for the Austrian combat Tupperware, running the 1911 properly isn't difficult for me.

In the last few days, I've put about 150 rounds through the .45 and about 120 precious .22lr rounds through the 1911-22. Only one malfunction with the .45 with the slide dragging after locking back on an empty magazine and me performing an emergency reload. I had to push the slide into battery. I note this was around 100 plus rounds without cleaning. No other malfunctions have been encountered thus far in the .45 1911.

I have seen about 3 varied malfunctions in the 1911-22 so far.

Will I carry the 1911 on duty now? No. Although my agency would allow it, I still think the practical and effective Glock is a better choice for duty and self defense, I wouldn't be upset if I was forced to carry this 1911 on or off duty with what I've seen thus far.

I do plan to take this 1911 through a handgun class at some point, as I think I'd do quite well with it.

I can recommend these weapons without hesitation, given what I've seen thus far from them. Especially if you can get the BOGO deal.